Small Business Owner of Any Repute
Mr. Moderate
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Posts: 13,431
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« Reply #27 on: September 27, 2008, 10:41:30 PM » |
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Thanks to everyone for their kind words and endorsements here. I appreciate the support.
I'm converting this into my official re-election campaign thread. I'll be posting information, issues, legislation, and other assorted goodies here over the course of the campaign.
I do want to welcome Pacific Governor Bgwah into the race for President. I'm truly glad to see that this race will be contested and that my opponent is a strong, capable one. I know some of you believe that this will be an easy re-election race, but I assure you, this race will be closer than many anticipate and I will be working hard to win every vote I can.
It appears the sudden competitiveness stems not just from Gov. Bgwah's entry, but in the polarization of this race into a regionalist vs. federalist contest. I wish to address this.
I do view the rise in partisanship as a (gasp!) good thing. After all, Atlasia was founded as a election sim with a government sim tacked on, and not as a government sim with an election sim component. Partisanship leads to more interesting and contested elections, which is a great thing in the long run.
This being said, it appears my "weakness" as a candidate for re-election is directly related to my support for extending PR-STV to the Regional seats. I understand now, as I understood when I proposed the idea, that it is a controversial idea that does not have enough support among the Senate to pass. But it is my goal as president to not just propose legislation that I believe will be "popular," but to propose legislation that I feel is in the best interest in Atlasia.
The latest round of PR-STV elections were a closely fought affair filled with surprises and upsets. That should be contrasted to the upcoming regional Senate elections, where the outcomes of most (4 of 5) races are virtually certain before the first vote will even be cast.
The results of the midterms show us that, should this next election be held via PR-STV, a cross section of Atlasian political ideologies would be elected, from hardline conservative to far-left liberal. And as we saw with the defeats of NLC incumbents ColinW and AndrewCT, the elections would be unpredictable enough that nothing would be guaranteed.
Still, while I view PR-STV to be a beneficial change to the Atlasian political landscape, I strongly encourage voters to examine my record and understand that my tenure as president has been about so much more than that. We've passed a major environmental package to create a record level of investment in clean renewable energy, and we are on the verge of passing another that will represent a record investment in mass transportation. We passed a bill to allow the Secretary of Forum Affairs to step in and enforce a regional laws should a region fall into emergency.
And, of course, the upcoming presidential election will also serve as a referendum on Atlasian recognition of the United States to gauge public support and guide the Senate towards a resolution of an issue that has gone unresolved for far too long.
To summarize: Do not short change yourself by believing that this is a single issue campaign.
I look forward to meeting the Governor of the Pacific out on the campaign trail and hopefully, in a debate where we can share our vision for the future of Atlasia with you, the people.
Thank you, and good night.
William Fox Moderate
President
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